Cisco Systems IE3010 Working with Configuration Files

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Cisco IE 3010 Switch Software Configuration Guide

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Appendix B Working with the Cisco IOS File System, Configuration Files, and Software Images

Working with Configuration Files

Working with Configuration Files

This section describes how to create, load, and maintain configuration files.

Configuration files contain commands entered to customize the function of t he Cisco IOS software. A

way to create a basic configuration file is to use the setup program or to enter the setup privileged EXEC

command. For more information, see Chapter 3, “Assigning the Switch IP Address and Default

Gateway.”

You can copy (download) configuration files from a TFTP, FTP, or RCP server to the running

configuration or startup configuration of the switch. You might want to perform this for one of these

reasons:

• To restore a backed-up configuration file.

• To use the configuration file for another switch. For example, you might add another switch to your

network and want it to have a configuration similar to the original switch. By copying the file to the

new switch, you can change the relevant parts rather than recreating the whole file.

• To load the same configuration commands on all the switches in your network so that all the

switches have similar configurations.

You c an co py ( upload) configuration files from the switch to a file server by using TFTP, FTP, or RCP.

You might perform this task to back up a current configuration file to a server before changing its

contents so that you can later restore the original configuration file from the server.

The protocol you use depends on which type of server you are using. The FTP and RCP transport

mechanisms provide faster performance and more reliable delivery of data than TFTP. These

improvements are possible because FTP and RCP are built on and use the TCP/IP stack, which i s

connection-oriented.

Creating configuration files can aid in your switch configuration. Configuration files can contain some

or all of the commands needed to configure one or more switches. For example, you might want to

download the same configuration file to several switches that have the same hardware configuration.

Use these guidelines when creating a configuration file:

• We recommend that you connect through the console port for the initial configuration of the switch.

If you are accessing the switch through a network connection instead of through a direct connection

to the console port, keep in mind that some configuration changes (such as changing the switch IP

address or disabling ports) can cause a loss of connectivity to the switch.

• If no password has been set on the switch, we recommend that you set one by us ing the enable secret

secret-password global configuration command.

Note The copy {ftp: | rcp: | tftp:} system:running-config privileged EXEC command loads the

configuration files on the switch as if you were entering the commands at the command line. The switch

does not erase the existing running configuration before adding the commands. If a command in the

copied configuration file replaces a command in the existing configuration file, the existing command is

erased. For example, if the copied configuration file contains a different IP addres s in a particular

command than the existing configuration, the IP address in the copied configuration is used. However,